Abstract:
The study empirically investigated the relationship between public debt and economic growth in
East African Community (EAC) from 2002 to 2020. The study deployed longitudinal research
design and the analysis was carried out through autoregressive distribution lag model. The
population of the study consisted of six countries in EAC, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi,
Rwanda and South Sudan. It was observed that public debt positively and significantly influences
economic growth in EAC. The findings imply that the governments should develop policies that
would guide investment criteria in the member states. Proper implementation of policies would
channel public debt in the productive sector of the economy. Therefore, debt is good for the
economy but only when invested in productive sector of the economy. This paper provides up to
date findings to support existing literature on public debt and economic growth using variables
and empirical model which prior studies could not sufficiently cover in developing countries, and
state that public debt positively influences economic growth in East African Community.
Key words: Public Debt, Economic Growth, East African Community.
